1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an operating device for various operations of electronic apparatuses, such as a navigation system or a game machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a navigation system (refer patent document 1) as the electronic apparatus is installed in an instrument panel of a car as a vehicle. The navigation system for a car includes a display for showing a map datum or the like, an operating device for operating display condition of the map datum shown in the display.
The operating device has a box-shaped main body, an operating shaft supported to swivel freely in omni-directions around one end of the shaft as a center by the main body and detecting switches received in the main body as a plurality of sensing devices. The detecting switches, for example eight switches, are disposed at even intervals in a circumferential direction about the one end of the operating shaft as the center.
The detecting switch detects that the one end of the operating shaft touches when the operating shaft swivels against the main body. When the one end of the operating shaft goes into a fan-shape detecting area, the center of which is at the one end of the operating shaft, the one end of the operating shaft touches to each detecting switch. The detecting areas of the plurality of detecting switches are disposed with substantially no gap and no overlap.
By a touch of the one end of the operating shaft, the sensing switch detects that the operating shaft swivels against the main body so as to tilt the other end of the operating shaft toward the detecting area. The aforesaid operating device can detect a direction of tilting the operating shaft against the main body by the touch of the one end of the operating shaft and any one of the plurality of sensing switches.
When the operating device detects the direction, the operating device outputs information to indicate the sensing switch detecting, i.e. the direction of the tilting operating shaft, toward the display. Thereby, the navigation system for the car moves a display area of the map datum shown in the display along the direction of the tilting operating shaft.
When the eight sensing switches mentioned above are provided, the navigation system can move the display area of the map datum shown in the display in eight directions of up, down, left, right, left-and-up and the others by swiveling the operating shaft against the main body. Thus, the navigation system can show wider area of the map datum than the area, which can be shown at a time in the display, by swiveling the operating shaft against the main body.
The patent reference 1 is Japan Patent Application Laid-open H10-301485.
Objects to be Solved
According to the aforesaid operating shaft used for usual navigation system for the car, when the operating shaft is tilted toward a boundary of detecting areas of neighboring sensing switches, the one end of the operating shaft touches to one of the neighboring sensing switches. Therefore, when the operating shaft is tilted toward the boundary, the sensing switch unexpected by an operator may be detected and the map datum shown in the display may be moved to a direction unexpected by the operator.
To overcome the above drawback, one object of this invention is to provide an operating device, by which an operator can operate various electronic apparatuses just as the operator intended.